Hi everyone, and welcome to my first blog, yay! My name is Yoland Bosiger, (though most people call me Yolly) and I am absolutely thrilled to be named the new Australasian Rolex Our World Underwater Scholar. I cannot wait to share this year with you and I hope that my stories, photos, and videos will keep you all well informed on my adventures and most importantly exited about the many opportunities our underwater world has to offer.

So I should begin my telling you a little bit about myself. I am 25 years old and from as long as I can remember I have been completely infatuated with the ocean. I was born one year into my parent’s eight-year sailing circumnavigation around the world and hence my appreciation for the ocean began very early on indeed! Arriving back in Australia, my parents decided to settle in Mossman, a small town at the footsteps of the iconic Great Barrier Reef. In high school I volunteered on a dive boat called Calypso Reef Charters  www.calypsoreefcruises.com and it was there that I really decided that I wanted a career involving the ocean. I chose to study a combined Bachelor of Law- Bachelor of Science degree at James Cook University in Australia and tried my hardest to balance study with the ever alluring possibilities of weekend dive trips and volunteering. After finishing my degree I completed my Honours research year in marine fish behaviour and after finishing my thesis I was all set to work as a field research assistant for my Honours supervisor. And that’s where all my plans changed.

I had known about the scholarship for a while and after reading about past scholars’ incredible experiences I knew I had to give it a shot. That said, I applied for the scholarship with absolutely no confidence of success and was absolutely blown away when told that I had made it through the initial selection round. I flew from Lizard Island Research Station to Sydney to meet with Jayne Jenkins, Sue Crowe, Karen Raubenheimer, Peter Fields, and Steve Lindfield. I answered all the questions as best as I could but still left the interview with a hollow feeling in my stomach. Did they like me? Did I talk too much? Did I say the wrong thing? Finally the waiting game was over and I got a call from Jayne Jenkins telling me that I had been awarded the scholarship.

“Ahhhh, I couldn’t stop jumping up and down for a good few minutes (much to the confusion and alarm of the cashier with whom I had been buying food off at the time). I then called my mum who had climbed up the mast of our yacht in order to get reception. My excitement quickly turned to panic when I realised that my news had shocked my mum so much that she had almost completely fallen off the mast. Luckily there were no injuries! That night I went over to visit Jayne and was introduced to her lovely husband Collin and dogs, Barney and Mazy. After possibly the most monumental day of my life I was back on a plane flying to Lizard Island where I would continue to run experiments until the New York weekend.

Fast track a month and I was on my way to the big city. New York was like nothing I had ever imagined. Even with all the film coverage, I still didn’t really realise that it would be so big, and so busy! I arrived at the Hilton Times Square where I was to share a room with Erin McFadden (Europe’s previous scholar), Anthea Ibell (Australasia’s previous scholar) and Megan Cook (America’s current scholar). Megan and Erin arrived and with so much in common it was hard not to make friends instantly. I knew we were in for a fantastic weekend!

The next morning Jayne Jenkins and Sue Crowe took us to have our Rolex Watch fitting at the Rolex headquarters. It were there that I also met our third partner in crime, the European Scholar, Oscar Svennson. We met with John Flaherty and Randy Greenberg who gave us a tour of the Rolex building and filled us in on the history of Rolex. We also got to hear about James Cameron’s incredible mission into the Mariana Trench with the Rolex Deepsea Challenge watch – the fact that a Rolex can resist the extreme pressure at 12000 metres is an pretty astonishing. It was then time for fitting and I was amazed at how beautiful the Submariner was. I couldn’t wait until Saturday when our watches would really be ours.

That evening we met with Mike Emmerman and Patricia Stockhausen for pizza at their beautiful home in Manhattan. Pizza night was my first real introduction to the OWUSS family and I remember thinking to myself, “wow, I can’t believe that I am getting to meet so many people with the same interests as me”. I also got to tackle my first New York Pizza, which I found requires some serious technique. For those who are not from the Big Apple and not used to eating enormous pizza slices, pizza needs to be folded lengthways in order to eat effectively. Folding in half the other way does not work – thanks Josh.

On Friday we were formally introduced to the OWUSS society at the board of directors meeting, and we watched Anthea, Erin, and Christian give their formal reports of the year. We then had some free time and Oscar, Megan, and I made the most of it – checking out the Rockefeller Center including a trip to the Top of the Rock. The evening rolled around and it was time for the dinner at the Terrace Club where we got to meet more incredible people from the society and have our initiation. I have to say I was pretty proud of my Aussie flag, Aussie flag jacket (yes they do make those apparently) and hat – thanks heaps guys.

It was finally Saturday and I woke up feeling both exited and slightly tense about what was to come. Our first stop was Mr. Emmerman’s building where we listened to presentations from the past scholars and interns. The morning was extremely beneficial as it gave me a real taste of how to approach the scholarship and what I could expect from the coming year. Maureen Sweeney then generously offered her time to help us with our speeches. It all went well and I felt a lot more confident after a couple of practices. A year long membership to the Explorers Club is one of the many generous gifts given to scholars and when Filip Wolski, the 2009 European scholar, kindly offered to take us on a tour of the Explorers Club and we all jumped at the chance. The Explorers Club was really amazing, full of incredible exploration history and artifacts (not to mention a full sized polar bear). I feel incredibly honoured to be a member.

After a bit of a frantic dash to get ready, Megan and I were out the door and on our way to the New York Yacht Club where we would be formally introduced as new scholars. “Wow” my jaw dropped when I walked into the Yacht Club. It definitely had one of the most incredible interiors I had ever seen. All over the walls were hundreds of model yachts and at the front of the room were exact replicas of the America’s Cup winning yachts – stunning. After some more mingling, the night’s events began and Anthea, Erin, and Christian all presented their films. Each scholar’s experiences were so inspirational and yet so completely different. I couldn’t help wonder what my film was going to look like next year and I hoped that I would not only learn and discover, but also grow as person just as they had. It was then our turn and we were all presented with an amazing array of gifts including medical supplies and a bag from Patty Seery at Divers Alert Network, a Light and Motion video housing, an Olympus camera and housing, and finally our Submariner timepiece from Rolex. This had to be one of the best days in my life so far. And the best thing – it was only the beginning.

After another late night, it was bagel slicing time at the Emmermans’ house. For someone who had never even eaten a bagel before, I think I did an okay job. It had only been four days but I really felt like I had a fabulous new group of friends who would be there for me throughout the year. It was lovely to spend one more morning chatting and relaxing before the trip home. After leaving everyone behind we had one more epic mission and that was to get Jayne, Sue, and my gear on the plane without paying for excess luggage (and yes our gear did include a person-sized pelican case). Luckily due to Jayne and Sue’s superior packing skills we made it on the plane.

I would like to thank all the wonderful people at the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society for making this weekend and my scholarship year possible. Thanks so much to Rolex for their amazing support as well as Sue Crowe at Tabata, Olympus, Light and Motion, Divers Alert Network, and the Explorers Club. Huge thanks also to Jayne Jenkins, my coordinator, for volunteering so much of her time and effort to this scholarship. Finally, I would like to thank my family, my partner Alex and his wonderful family, and all my friends who have supported me and helped to shape who I am today.